Mamoni Mondal

Village Financial Services believes that women have a unique position in every society. Real development cannot take place if it bypasses women. VFS is a major role player in the employment of rural women. One such woman is Mamoni Monadal of Charchandanbati village, KalyanI. Her husband, Tulsi Mondal, is a daily labour, who could not fulfill the basic needs of the family, including that of his son and aging parents. He was not being able to give his son primary education. Also, he was unable to provide proper medicine for his aging parents. Mamoni was determined to build a future for herself and her son. Also, she wanted to support her husband in running the family smoothly. In 2010, she happened to meet a representative from VFS, which was Godsend for her. Mamoni became a customer of microfinance services – an initiative by Village Financial Services that supports the poorest of the poor in remote areas of the country to help them meet their basic needs and become self-sufficient .First, she took a loan of Rs. 5000/- from VFS and started making panipuri at home. They used to sell them in the local area. Gradually, she was able to grow her business of making panipuri. She took multiple loans from VFS, starting from Rs. 5000/-Now her outstanding loan is Rs. 25000/- . She has replaced her small hut with a building, and her son is going to school. Mamoni started with nothing, and was constantly pushed back by society. But she never gave up, and now, her son has a good life. She is living with a force of a mother’s love and a woman’s strength. This has not only created a new future not for her son but has also empowered her to help other women like herself. The training provided by VFS has given her the confidence to take immediate actions.“The knowledge I gained from the training from VFS has entered my bones, not just my head,” Mamoni says.